Latest figures released by Iran Airports Company indicates partial recovery in airport traffic in the month to April 20, compared with the same period of last year, when it was harshly hit by travel restrictions in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, figures are substantially low compared with the same period of 2019.
Iranian airports' domestic passenger traffic increased to 2.1 million during the first month of the current Iranian year from 762,501 in last year’s corresponding period.
However, statistics reveal a month-on-month decline in airport traffic. As per the figures, close to 2.29 million passengers were transported domestically during the 12th month of the previous fiscal year (Feb. 20-March 20, 2021).
Takeoffs and landings also posted substantial growth from 9,417 to 24,665.
Over 17,610 tons of cargos were handled during the month under review, considerably higher than the previous year's 6,450 tons.
This is while domestic passenger traffic of airports stood at 3.4 million and 3.7 million during the same period of 2019 and 2018, respectively.
Airports handled 28,900 and 32,800 takeoffs and landings in 2018-19 fiscal year. An average of 30,000 tons of goods were transported by air in the first month of the fiscal year, before the outbreak of Covid-19.
Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport accounted for 748,000 of the total passenger traffic during the first month of the current year, two times higher than the same period of last year.
Mashhad International Airport and Kish International Airport came next with 295,000 and 276,000 passengers, respectively.
Mehrabad handled 9,500 landings and takeoffs during the period, considerably higher than other Iranian airports.
IAC's data do not include figures on Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, which accounts for the largest portion of international flights operated to/from Iran.
Busiest Routes
As per the figures, airlines operated 714 flights from Kish to Tehran during the month ending March 20, transferring 75,676 passengers from the southern island to the capital.
During the period, 64,778 passengers were also flown from Tehran to Kish Island via 713 direct flights to put the route on top of most congested air routes during the holiday season.
The Iranian New Year began on March 21.
Tehran-Mashhad flights came next with the highest number of monthly flights, followed by Tehran-Shiraz and Tehran-Ahvaz.
Airliners' Performance
As per the report, flag carrier IranAir operated 2,295 domestic flights during the first month, outperforming other airliners.
Iran Aseman Airlines came next with 1,736 flights during the month under review, followed by Ata Airlines with 1,304 and Iran Airtour with 1,132.
Notably, ATA Airlines has added three Embraer planes to its fleet, according to the CEO of the company.
“By adding these long-haul planes to the existing fleet, ATA Airlines aims to expand its travel routes,” Mehdi Fat’hi was quoted as saying by IRNA.
With the addition of the new fleet, ATA now owns six Embraer planes.
ATA Airlines is an Iranian airline based at Tabriz International Airport. It operates scheduled domestic and international services in the Middle East, as well as charter services, including Europe. The airline was established on 17 December 2008 and started operations in 2010 with services on domestic routes. Its first flight was performed on 31 December 2009 from Tabriz to Mashhad.
Pars Air topped the list of airlines in terms of delayed flights. Nearly 36% of its flights were delayed during the month. Saha Airlines and Taban Airlines came next with 24% and 25% respectively.
Mahan Air registered the lowest number of flight delays, as nearly 95% of the airline’s flights were operated on time.
The report also includes data on the cancellation of Iranian airliners' flights. As per the report, 44% of Iranian airliners' planned flights were canceled during the month under review.
Mahan topped the list, with a cancelation rate of 71% during the month under review. It was followed by Sepehran Airlines with 64%, Taban Airlines with 55%, Caspian Airlines with 53% and Zagros Airlines with 43% each.
Saha Airlines, ATA and Pars Air recorded the best performance in this regard, as their cancellation rate stood at 19%, 20% and 28%, respectively.
Overflights
Statistics released by Iran Airport Company also indicate growth in the total number of foreign flights using Iranian airspace during the month to April 20.
A total of 11,426 foreign flights passed through Iran's airspace during the month, which figure stood at 5,126 during the same period of the year before.
“The decline in global demand for air travels also had a negative impact on Iranian airports' revenues. Revenues from air passenger traffic and aircraft flying over Iran’s airspace have decreased by 80% since the coronavirus outbreak,” says Siavash Amirmokri, managing director of Iran Airports Company.
Iran Airports Company hopes to recover about 50% of the delayed debts by March 2021, using the newly-installed platform.
